CONFIRMATION
Confirmation completes
the grace of Baptism by a special outpouring of the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, which seal or confirm the
baptized in unison with Christ and equip them for active
participation in the worship and apostolic life of
the Church (Catechism
of the Catholic Church,
1285).
Holy Baptism is the first sacrament of initiation,
and Confirmation is the second. By Confirmation (or
Chrismation as it is called in the Christian East),
the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Lord
Jesus and His Church, and they are enriched with
a special strength of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses
(or martyrs) of Christ and the truth of His Gospel.
On several occasions in His preaching, the Lord
Jesus promised an outpouring of God the Holy Spirit
on His disciples, and this promise was fulfilled
first on the Day of Resurrection and then more strikingly
at Pentecost. St. Peter declared this outpouring
of the Holy Spirit to be the sign of the messianic
age. From that time on and in fulfillment of Christ's
command, the Apostles imparted to the newly baptized
by the laying on of hands the gift of the Holy Spirit
to complete the grace of Baptism.
The imposition of hands, therefore, is the origin
of the sacrament of Confirmation which perpetuates
the grace of Pentecost in the Church. Very early
in the Church's life this apostolic laying
on of hands was accompanied by an anointing with
perfumed oil called sacred chrism, the better to
signify the gift of the Holy Spirit Who anointed
the Lord Jesus at His own Baptism. This anointing
highlights the name Christian, which
derives from the sacred title of Messiah (or Christ
from the Greek translation), meaning the Anointed
One.
In the Eastern Churches (both Catholic and Orthodox),
Confirmation or Chrismation is administered together
with Baptism, even to infants. But in the Western
Church, the two first sacraments of initiation became
separated in the early Middle Ages, and to this day
Confirmation is administered after the age of reason
for those baptized as infants.
For adult converts who have never been baptized,
the unity of these two sacraments is now restored
when they are given together at the Easter Vigil.
All Catholic Christians should receive the Sacrament
of Confirmation to complete their communion with
Christ and be marked by the perfection of the baptismal
priesthood of the faithful in order to proclaim more
boldly and publicly that Jesus Christ is Lord. Any
baptized adult Catholic who has not yet been confirmed
should participate in the Rite of Christian Initiation
of Adults (RCIA) and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation
at Easter. |
